Automatic fire-extinguisher.



No. ssgzss. Patented 'Ian. M, I902.

' H. K. MILNER.

AUTOMATIC FIRE EXTINGUISH'EB.

(Application filed June 12, 1901.)

(No Model.)

rem x 5m 5 THE scams PETERS ca. Pnormuwq, WASHINGYON. n. c.

UNITED STATES HENRY KEY MILNER, OF BIRMlNGI-IAM, ALABAMA.

AUTOMATIC FIRE-EXTINGUISHER. Q

PATENT, OFFICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part or LettersiPatent No. 691,283, dated antr 14, 1902.

Application filed June 12, '19

T aZZ whom it may concern: I I

Be it known that I, HENRY KEYMILNER, a citizen'of the United States of America, re-

siding at Birmingliaimin the county of Jefferson and State of Alabama, have invented certain new andouseful Improvements in Au;

tomatic Fire-Extinguishers, of which the'following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvment in automatic fire-extinguishers, and'while applicable to any buildingwhere the use of an extinguisher of this character is desirable it is more particularly adapted for use with dry kilns, and I have shown it applied in that connection and the invention consists in certain novel featuresofconstruction and combinations of parts, which will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a' view in longitudinal vertical section through a kiln .or other chamber,'the parts of the invention all beingshown inside elevation; and Fig. 2 is a view in plan of the parts of the invention. v

F represents a pipe containing the extinguishing fluid, which may be steam, water, or other fiuid.

E is a controlling-valve, which normally remains seated and prevents the extinguishing fluid from rising through the pipe Y above the valve and escaping through the perforated pipe Y, which latter extends through out or approximately throughout the length of the room, chamber, or building, or kiln, as the case may be, to be protected from fire. This perforated pipe may be in different formsfor instance, a straight pipe-or it is obvious that it might'be in zigzag or serpentine form, or it might be provided with lateral branches in order to distribute the fluid as thoroughly as possible throughout the chamber to be' protected, and when applied to a dry kiln, as indicated in Fig. 1, the pipes Y and Y are continuations or in the form of a branch from the main, which supplies steam for heating the kiln. This latter is by no means a necessary constructiombut for the purposes of economy is preferable.

The valve E is kept closed against the pressure of the extinguishing fluid by a long lever D, which is held normally in a vertical position, as indicated in Fig. 3, pressing the 011. Serial No. 64,287- (Remodel) valveagainst its seat, A wire 0 is attached to the end of the leverD, passes around ver- .tically-disposed pulley H, thence upward over vertical pulley H, then back and forth across a' width of the kiln or other building around pulleys A A, thus making'a network of zigzag wiring at the ceiling of the room, and, finally, this wire passes down over the vertically-disposedpulley I-I- At the free end of the wire 0 a weight I is depended, which at all times keeps the Wire 0 taut, thereby holding lever D in an elevated position against the valvestem of vai've E, keeping the latter tightly closed. Weight I also serves a secondary purpose. Itt'akes care of the expansion and contraction in wire 0, which will be considerable, owing to the high temperature in the kiln when lumber is being dried and at other times when the temperature is comparatively low, when there is no' heat in the kiln. Wirei Cis provided at intervals with f sible links 13. B, or perhaps, more accurately speaking, the wire is't'nade up of sections, the adjacent ends of which are connected together bythe'se fusible links to form a continuous wire.

At some convenient point, preferably at the upper end of pipe Y, a whistle K is located, thisbeing blown by the extinguishing fluid when valve E is opened, whereby to give convenient point outside of or remote from the kiln or building to be protected. A bellcrank lever L is pivoted in position to close a circuit through theterminals M'M of the belhcircuit. A wire or cord connects one end of the bell-crank lever with another bellcrank lever N inside of the kiln or building,

and the opposite end of lever N is connected with the weight I by means of a cord or wire 0.

If at any time fire should originate in the kiln or building and melt one of the fusible links, the tension on wire 0 will at once be relieved, and the pressure of the extinguishing fluid against the inner end of the valve E will immediately force the valve from its seat IOC and open an unobstructed passage for the fluid into pipe Y and thence into the perforated pipe or pipes. At the same time the pressure of this fluid will be suflicient to blow the whistle if a whistle is used, and the falling of the weight I will give a sudden jerk .to bell-crank lever N, and through its connection with bell-crank lever L the lower end of the latter will" be swung between the electric terminals M M of the bell-circuit, thus closing the latter and causing the bell to ring.

In this way the fire is not only quickly ex- Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is--' J. The combination-with a pipeadapted to contain extinguishing fluid, a valve therein of such form and'construction that'itis opened by the fluid-pressure against it when notot-herwisehindered,a pipe leading f-romthe valve, and a perforated discharge-pipe leading from said last-named pipe, of a lever bearing normally against the valve,a flexible connection having fusible sections, said connection at,-

tached to the lever, and a weight on 1311613011? v nection remote from the lever for keeping the connection taut and for holding the valve closed until the connection is severed.

2. The combination with a pipe adapted to containextinguishing fluid, a valve therein of suchform and construction that itis opened by the fluid-pressure against it when not otherwise hindered,apipe leading from the valve, and a perforated discharge-pipe leading from saidlast-named pipe, of a lever bearing normally against the valve, a flexible connection having fusible section's, said connection attached to the lever, and a weight on the connection remote from the lever for keeping the connection taut and for holding the valve closed until the connection is severed, a bell, bell-circuit, terminals for saidcircuit, a pair of levers loosely connected together, one pivoted in position to engage the terminals, and

a connection extending from the other lever to the weight;

3. The combination with a pipe adapted .to

contain extinguishing, fluid, a valve therein of such form andconstru'cti'on that it isopened by the fluid-pressure against it when not otherwisehindered,a pipe leading from the valve, said pipe having a whistle therein adapted to be sounded .When the valve is opened by the fluid whichforces thevalve open, and a per fora-ted discharge-pipeleading from said last-.

named pipe, of a lever. bearing normally against'the valve, a flexible connection having fusible sections, said connection attached to the lever, and a weight-0n the connection remote from the lever for keeping the connection taut and for holding the valve closed until the connection is severed,

In testimonyfwhereof I have signed my name to this specificat-ioinin the presence of two subscribing witnesses. v

' HENRY KEY MILNER.

lVitnesses A. E. NE SO 0. H. CoLvIN; 

